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UNITED STATES t.{J

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Carlisle Barracks, PA

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ISLAMISM AND SECURilY

IN BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
Leslie S. Lebl

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U.S. ARMY WAR COLLEGE

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~O.L

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ISLAMISM AND SECURITY

IN BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA

Leslie S. Lebl

May 2014

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FOREWORD
Many observers viewed the military mission of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) mission
to Bosnia-Herzegovina (Bosnia), launched in late1995, as a test of the international communitys ability
to keep the peace in the post-Cold War world. This
task proved difficult: The many obstacles to restoring
stability and growth in Bosnia have been thoroughly
dissected over the years, from the challenges of transition governments to the difficulties of interethnic
reconciliation.
One factor, however, has received but scant attention: the role of Islamism, the political ideology based
on a religion that motivates the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaeda, and many other radical groups. This
monograph will examine the impact of Islamism on
Bosnian security, tracing developments during the 9
years of NATO peacekeeping, as well as the ensuing
years. It will also examine the ties between so-called
nonviolent and violent Islamismties that have
already surfaced in other countries where NATO or
the U.S. military is engaged. As a consequence, the
monograph offers a framework to analyze the potential constraints that Islamism can place on present-day
and future military missions in Muslim countries.


DOUGLAS C. LOVELACE, JR.
Director

Strategic Studies Institute and

U.S. Army War College Press

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

LESLIE S. LEBL is a Fellow of the American Center
for Democracy and a Principal of Lebl Associates. A
former Foreign Service Officer, she now writes, lectures, and consults on political and security matters.
During her Foreign Service career, Ms. Lebl served
as Political Advisor to the Commander of Stabilization Forces (SFOR) in Bosnia-Herzegovina in the late1990s, first in the American sector in Tuzla and then
at SFOR headquarters in Sarajevo. Her most recent
publications include articles in Orbis on the European
Union, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and on radical Islam in
Europe. A monograph, Advancing U.S. Interests with
the European Union, was published by the Atlantic
Council of the United States. Other publications include analyses of European defense policy for the Cato
Institute and of U.S.-EU cooperation in combating terrorism for Policy Review. Ms. Lebl holds a B.A. in history from Swarthmore College and an M.A. in foreign
affairs from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced
International Studies.

vii

SUMMARY
Bosnia-Herzegovina, once thought to be on the
way to joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU), is instead
falling behind, mired in political bickering, economic
stalemate, and governmental dysfunction. In this difficult situation, Islamism poses a significant threat to
Bosnias fragile domestic stability. Although the levels of Islamist terrorism and separatist movements
are comparable to those elsewhere in Europe, they are
particularly troublesome in Bosnia for two reasons.
First, senior political and religious Bosniak (Muslim)
leaders have long-standing ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamist terrorism, including al-Qaeda and
Iran, that they are very reluctant to abandon. Second,
Islamism contributes significantly to Bosnias dysfunction as a country. Calls to re-impose traditional
Islamic law, or sharia, arouse opposition from Bosnian
Serbs and Croats, as does the nostalgia for the Ottoman Empire and Islamic Caliphate shared by key Bosniak leaders, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation
(OIC), and the Turkish government.
Some analysts think that Bosnias slide can be reversed by mounting another NATO military mission,
while others want the United States to accelerate its
NATO membership. The U.S. Army should be prepared to explain why the previous NATO mission was
successful, and why, in contrast, another one would
be much more difficult. The European Command and
the Office of the Secretary of Defense should alert
Washington policymakers to the danger to NATO
policymaking and day-to-day operations arising
from the Islamist ties of some Bosniak leaders and
representatives.

ix

ISLAMISM AND SECURITY

IN BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
BOSNIA IN TROUBLE
Eighteen years after the fighting ended in BosniaHerzegovina (Bosnia), its territorial integrity and internal stability are not yet assured. Most observers
had assumed that membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European
Union (EU) would cement Bosnian security. Although
other Balkan countries have successfully joined those
two organizations,1 Bosnia is unlikely to follow them
any time soon. Instead, reforms that appeared to pave
the way for membership have stalled. The unity of
the state is in doubt; its governmental structure is
unworkable, and its economy is failing.
The Bosnian governmental structure set up under
the Dayton Peace Accords included a weak central
state, two entities (the Bosniak-Croat Federation and
the Serb Republic), and a separate jurisdiction for the
disputed town of Brko. With the Federation further
divided into 10 relatively autonomous cantons
roughly reflecting the territorial divisions between
Bosniaks and Croatsnot only is the result top-heavy
and unwieldy, but the structure encourages disputes
and tensions framed in terms of ethnicity. Most observers, with the exception of the U.S. Government,
have concluded that the cumbersome mechanism of
two entities and a weak central state agreed to at Dayton in 1995 simply does not work.2
If Bosnias economy were thriving, these tensions
would probably recede. But basic requirements for
such a thriving economy, such as large-scale energy
projects, are frequently blocked by the lack of inter-

entity cooperation.3 In addition, the economic liberalization required for growth would deprive the
multiple layers of officialdom of substantial income,
whether from controlling state-owned companies inherited from the communist past or revenues from
the welter of existing regulations and administrative
requirements.
Strong leadership might overcome this inertia, but
strong leadership is exactly what is lacking. Meanwhile, corruption remains widespread,4 and the average Bosnian faces high unemployment, reaching 57
percent among young people.5 Poverty is mitigated by
extensive state subsidies that further weigh down the
economy and by black market jobs.
Former Serbian president Slobodan Miloevi and
former Croatian president Franjo Tudjman famously
divided up Bosnia on a napkin in 1991.6 They failed to
achieve their goal during the subsequent war, but the
division of Bosnia from within has advanced apace.
The poor economy has contributed to this process,
but so has the deliberate policy of alienation pursued
by all three ethnic groups. An entire generation of
Bosnians has gone through an ethnically segregated
educational system in which each group is taught its
own version of religion, geography, history, and language.7 Those divisions are then perpetuated by politicians who exploit ethnic fears and tensions.
Unsurprisingly, the inter-ethnic reconciliation
hoped for at Dayton has not come to pass. Rather,
an overwhelming majority of Bosnian Serbs support
the secession of the Serb Republic. A large number
of Croats have already left the country; they are estimated now to account for only 10 percent of Bosnias
population, as compared with 17 percent in 1991.8 Of
those Croats still in country, over 40 percent want to

carve a third, Croat, entity out of the Federation,9 despite the fact that the Dayton quota system currently
grants them outsize influence (one-third of the statelevel positions and half of those in the Federation
government).
As Bosnian analysts Anes Alic and Vildana Skocajic put it, the majority of Bosnians do not feel that this
is their homeland.10 This puts an alarming spin on
other, already-disturbing data: some 87 percent feel
the country is going in the wrong direction,11 and 77
percent of young people say they would leave Bosnia
if they could.12 Such negative perceptions are also typical of a country in demographic decline, as Bosnia is
today.13 It may be only mid-ranked on the list of failed
states, but it is clearly in trouble.14
Neither NATO nor the EU can solve these problems, despite their best efforts. NATO provided first
the Implementation Force (IFOR) and then its successor, Stabilization Force (SFOR), to maintain stability
for 9 years after the war. Today, it maintains a military
headquarters in Sarajevo to assist Bosnia with reforms
and commitments related to NATO accession.
Bosnia has met all NATO membership requirements except for the registration of all the defense facilities deemed necessary for future defense as properties of the central state.15 The Serb Republic has refused
to transfer its properties, and its President, Milorad
Dodik, has called for Bosnia to demilitarize rather than
join NATO.16 Clearly, the obstacles to NATO accession are political and can be removed only by the Bosnians themselves. Even if they are overcome, NATO
has no means to solve Bosnias serious social and
economic problems.
EU accession, which requires extensive economic,
social, and political reforms, is often viewed by U.S.

policymakers as the critical means to achieve EuroAtlantic integration. One could argue that the EU is
an unlikely tool for streamlining governments and reducing the public sector, promoting entrepreneurship
rather than redistribution, and resolving cultural tensions among different groups. Nevertheless, the EU
has prodded Bosnia, inter alia, to strengthen its central state institutions, reform its public administration
and judicial system, combat corruption, and develop
a market economy, but with only limited success. Today, EU officials appear to have concluded that there
is not much they can do to solve Bosnias problems,
given Bosnian politicians lack of vision and internecine disputes.17 The EU official in charge of accession
has warned that, if the present situation persists, Bosnias application could be frozen.18
If Bosnia was a just another EU candidate country,
such an assessment would probably attract little attention. But in this case, it is significant, given the huge EU
effort to rebuild Bosnia. The EU replaced SFOR with
its own military operation, European Union Force
(EUFOR); it replaced the United Nations (UN) police
mission with the European Union Police Mission, and
for a time it combined the position of EU Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina with that of the
UNs Office of the High Representative (OHR). in an
effort to coordinate and direct the civilian international communitys involvement in Bosnia. The failure of
such an ambitious effort explains why Europeans now
say that it is primarily up to the Bosnians, not outsiders, to fix Bosnias problems.19

ISLAMISM: MUSLIM BROTHERS, TERRORISTS,

AND WAHHABIS
In this precarious environment, the growth of Islamism is particularly worrisome. Islamism contrasts
strongly with the more-moderate form of Islam traditionally practiced in Bosnia. A 20th century political
ideology based on a religion, Islamisms ultimate goal
is to replace Western law with traditional Islamic law,
or sharia, worldwide. Not only would this undermine
Western democracy by rejecting the laws designed
by democratically elected representatives, but sharias
fundamental principlessuch as inequality before the
law (more on this topic later in the text)are antithetical to Western law. This transformation to Islamism
would be accomplished by means of a global Caliphate, or Islamic empire, headed by a person who is both a
political and religious leader.
Most Western observers dismiss warnings about
the dangers of Islamism as crude Serb or Croat propaganda intended to undermine the Bosnian state. In
so doing, they usually note that Islamism is unlikely
to become a significant force because most Bosniaks
continue to adhere to their traditionally moderate and
relatively secular version of Islam. However, evidence
drawn primarily from Bosniak and Western sources
reveals a more-nuanced and alarming picture. To understand this picture, it is first necessary to identify
the main types of Islamism influencing Bosnia today.
Islamists are usually divided into two categories:
the violent Islamist who pursues holy war, or jihad,
openly, and his nonviolent counterpart who publicly
eschews itexcept against Israel or Western forces
fighting in Muslim countries. However, the links between violent and nonviolent Islamism, while often

denied, are increasingly obvious. This is particularly

true in countries like Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Syria, where the Muslim Brotherhoodthe best-known
group in the nonviolent categorynow contends
openly for power. The evidence from Bosnia presented later in this text also shows a blurred line between
violence and nonviolence.
Instead, it is more useful to distinguish among
three main groups of Islamists in Bosnia: those linked
to the Muslim Brotherhood, a group whose members participate in democratic institutions and often
publicly espouse Western values; those engaged in
terrorist activity, or jihad; and so-called Wahhabis, adherents of Saudi fundamentalism who reject Western
institutions. Some Wahhabis are linked to terrorist
activity, while others are not. There are tensions and
disputes among the three groups, but they all agree on
the goal of replacing Western law with sharia. And all
three groups have connections to the Bosniak political
and religious elite.
The Muslim Brotherhood.
Islamism first appeared in Bosnia in 1941 when
Alija Izetbegovi and others formed the Young
Muslims, a group patterned after the Muslim Brotherhood. Izetbegovis famous political tract from the
early-1970s, the Islamic Declaration, contained many
Islamist concepts, confirming his personal attraction
to the ideology.
This ancient history suddenly sprang to life when
Izetbegovi founded a political party with former
Young Muslims as its inner core, outmaneuvered his
more-moderate rivals, and became president of Bosnia in 1990. He filled that position during and after the

Bosnian war, from 1990-96, and then became a member of the joint presidency (which rotates between a
Serb, a Croat, and a Bosniak) from 1996-2000. He died
in 2003, but his legacy lives on, as his long-time associate, Haris Silajdzi, and son, Bakir, follow in his
footsteps, both as presidents of Bosnia and as Islamist
sympathizers.
Brotherhood ties today are very important to another senior Bosniak, Mustafa Ceri. Ceri served for
years as Grand Mufti of Sarajevo and the head of the
official Islamic Community. In addition, he is considered to be a leading Bosniak political figure in his
own right.
Thus, while little is said or written about Muslim
Brotherhood activities in Bosnia, the most senior Bosniak leadersviewed by Westerners as representing
moderate, relatively secular Muslimsare, in fact,
closely connected to, or deeply sympathetic with, that
organization. Their views and their relationships steer
Bosnia toward Islamism and the Muslim world, while
alienating Bosniaks from Bosnian Serbs and Croats,
their fellow citizens.
Terrorists.
Islamism received a tremendous boost with the arrival of Islamic fighters, or mujahideen, to fight on the
Bosniak side during the 1992-95 war. Their military
value has been disputed, but the accompanying financial and military support from Saudi Arabia and Iran
was vital to the Bosniak war effort. While those two
countries are rivals, they arrived at an accommodation in Bosnia to support the mujahideen. Saudi Arabia
focused on financing and logistical supplies, and Iran
on importing the fighters and on military aid.20

The war in Bosnia definitely gave al-Qaeda a huge

boost, both in terms of organization and recruitment,21
and helped radicalize European Muslims. Many of
them were revolted by graphic videos of suffering
Bosniaks, and some traveled to Bosnia to provide aid
or fight and so came into contact with foreign jihadists.
Many jihadists later directed their fighting skills against
European and American targets. Since the war ended
in 1995, Bosnian veterans from various countries have
figured in terrorist activities in countries around the
globe, among them France, Indonesia, Iraq, Malaysia,
Morocco, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Thailand, the
United Kingdom, the United States, and Yemen.22
The best-known initiatives to combat Islamist terrorism were the 1996 IFOR raid on an Iranian-run terrorist training camp in Pogorelica and numerous steps
taken after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001
(9/11), on the United States. At that time, SFOR interrupted terrorist plots aimed at NATO and other Western targets and raided the Saudi High Commission
and other Saudi charities that were funding terrorist
organizations.
By 2004, terrorism expert Evan Kohlmann, in
a book warning about the Afghan-Bosnian terrorist connection, concluded that al-Qaeda had largely
failed to take root in Bosnia. He noted the progress
made in shutting down various terrorist operations
and expressed the opinion that al-Qaeda had failed
because moderate Bosniaks rejected its extremist ideology.23 However, Kohlmann may have spoken too
soon. Box 1 shows a continuum from 1996 through
2006 in which Bosnia served as an active link in the
al-Qaeda network.

Box 1
The Bosnian Connection in International
Islamist Terror.
Starting in 1996, senior mujahideen leaders
such as Abu el-Maali and Abu Sulaimann
al-Makki, then living as civilians in Bocinja Donja, oversaw plots in France, Italy,
and Jordan designed to avenge the deaths
of other leaders.
In 2008, the Office of the High Representative (OHR) in Sarajevo reportedly uncovered evidence that senior Bosniak politician
Hasan engi signed off on a money transfer intended to finance the attacks of 9/11.
Karim Said Atmani, the document forger
for the group plotting the 2000 Millenium
plot bombing, was a frequent visitor to Bosnia. He obtained his first Bosnian passport
in 1995 and subsequently was allowed to
stay without a valid passport after he was
deported by Canada in 1998.
In late-October 2001, Algerians with Bosnian citizenship were arrested by the Bosnian authorities on charges of plotting to fly
small aircraft from Visoko and crash them
into SFOR bases in Tuzla and Bratunac.
The 2005 plot to bomb the funeral of Pope
John Paul II in Croatia reportedly originated in Gornja Maoa. The plot involved
smuggling rocket launchers, explosives,
and detonators into Italy.

 Also in 2005, Bosnian police raided an apartment connected to a group seeking to blow
up the British Embassy in Sarajevo, seizing
explosives, rifles, other arms, and a video
pledging vengeance for jihadists killed in
Afghanistan and Iraq. One of those arrested, a Swedish citizen of Bosnian origin, ran
a website on behalf of Abu Musab Zarqawi,
head of al-Qaeda in Iraq.
In 2006, a group of Bosnians and Macedonians linked to al-Qaeda were arrested in
northern Italy after smuggling some 1,800
guns into that country from Istanbul.
Sources: Evan F. Kohlmann, Al-Qaidas Jihad in Europe: The
Afghan-Bosnian Network, New York, Berg, 2004, pp. 176, 199,
201-209; Bosnia-Herzegovina Federation public TV, May 5, 2008;
The Washington Post, March 11, 2000; Channel 4 News, January 17, 2002; ISN, November 17, 2008; The Washington Post,
December 1, 2005; and Christopher Deliso, The Coming Balkan Caliphate: The Threat of Radical Islam to Europe and the West,
Westport, CT: Praeger, 2007, p. 26.

Nor were the Iranians routed after the 1996 raid in

Pogorelica. Today, both the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and National Security (VEVAK) and the Islamic
Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) have a presence
in Bosnia. Of the two, the IRGC reportedly has the
better, more-extensive network.24 After the July 2012
terrorist attack at the Burgas airport in Bulgaria, international attention focused on possible threats from
Hezbollah elsewhere in the Balkans. An Israeli expert,
cited by Christopher Deliso, concluded that Bosnia
posed the biggest danger in the region because There
remain pro-Iranian elements in the government, and

10

Iran is active through the embassy in Sarajevo and

charities.25
Today, Islamist terrorism persists in Bosnia, whether involving al-Qaeda, Iran, or home-grown sources,
but assessments of the threat it poses vary. Many
Western analysts largely have dismissed this terrorism as not being a major issue. The 2013 Congressional Research Service report on Bosnia, for example,
makes only a brief mention of terrorism,26 and recent
State Department and EU terrorism reports suggest
that the level of terrorism in Bosnia is no greater than
elsewhere in Europe.27
On the other hand, a leading Bosnian law enforcement official said that the only reason there have not
been more terrorist attacks was that Weve had more
luck than brains.28 The actual number of individuals
involved is not trivial; Almir Duvo, the director of
the Intelligence and Security Agency of BiH (OSA),
estimated in July 2010 that there were 3,000 potential
terrorists in Bosnia, out of a population of just under
four million people.29
Two conclusions can be drawn from these assessments. First, the level of terrorist activity in Bosnia
does appear comparable to levels elsewhere in Europealthough, if the Bosnian official cited above is
right, any optimism should be guarded at best. Second, just because the terrorist threat is not unusual
does not mean it is not necessarily unimportant. Comparisons with Western Europe can be misleading, as
terrorism is much more dangerous to a fragile state
than to a robust democracy.

11

Wahhabis.
One mujahideen leader predicted in 1996 that
[f]oreign fighters will not be a problem for Bosnia.
They will move on. But we planted a seed here and
you will have more and more Bosnian Muslims practicing traditional Islam.30 The most obvious sign of
this trend are the so-called Wahhabis, adherents of the
fundamentalist Islam practiced in Saudi Arabia.
Estimates of the numbers of Wahhabis or members
of similar sects vary widely. Observers were surprised
by the crowd of more than 3,000 people, half of them
Bosnians, who attended the funeral of a Wahhabist
leader in 2007,31 as well as by a 2013 conference in Tuzla that drew 500 participants, mostly young men.32
Given that an estimated 4,000 people gather each Friday to hear radical sermons preached at the Saudibacked King Fahd Mosque in Sarajevo,33 the number
of Wahhabis could be quite high. But the most likely
figure is that given by Federation police (not the police
of the Serb Republic), who estimated in 2009 that there
were up to 5,000 practicing Bosnian Wahhabis.34
Unsurprisingly, the Wahhabis recruit followers
from the least privileged classes:
Bosnian Wahhabis largely target youth with few economic opportunities and [the] downtrodden, both
from rural areas. They keenly take advantage of poverty, lack of education and poor social services, offering young people and refugees a variety of opportunities, including jobs, income and fellowship. There
have been cases in which new members are paid several hundred euros per month for their loyalty. There
is also evidence that members are paid for convincing their wives to wear the hijab in public, among
other things.35

12

The Saudi role in this process is extensive. The

Saudis financed an extensive mosque-building program after the war, of which the $30-million King
Fahd Mosque36 is only the most visible and influential,
and built a parallel religious educational structure to
that offered by the official Islamic Community.37 The
Saudis are also believed to fund various Wahhabi
groups, to educate young Bosnians in Saudi Arabia,
and to send operatives to Bosnia who typically marry
Bosnian women and blend into local society.38
As the Wahhabi movement has gained momentum, militants have engaged in violent clashes with
traditional Bosniaks and sought to impose their standards of behavior on the public. Young and charismatic Wahhabi preachers travel through Western Europe
and the Balkans, lecturing and giving sermons; they
maintain popular websites full of jihadist propaganda
and incitement to terror. One prominent preacher is
known for a pro-jihadist, anti-American song that he
performs at weddings and other social events:
American and other adversaries should know
That now the Muslims
Are one like the Taliban
Listen, brothers,
Believers of the world
With dynamite on their chest
Lead the path to dzennet (heaven).39
Some Bosniaks have always been anti-American,
but the vast majority were openly grateful to the United States for intervening to stop the war and then to
keep the peace. No recent polls appear to have measured how these views may have changed. It is, however, unrealistic to expect young people born during

13

or after the war to share that sense of gratitude, or indeed, to expect older people to continue to feel gratitude as the political system imposed at Dayton fails to
deliver results.
While Wahhabi violence and proselytization are
quite visible, these Islamists are even better known
for their separatist enclaves, which function as nogo-zones. The inhabitants of these enclaves reject
the authority of the Bosnian government and instead
impose a strict interpretation of sharia. The first such
enclave was in the village of Bocinja Donja, formerly a
Bosnian Serb village, where the Bosniak government
settled former mujahideen after the war.
The mujahideen married Bosnian women and so
acquired Bosnian citizenship. The village provided
them a safe haven in which to maintain their terrorist contacts under the guise of simple farmers. In the
1990s, the hostility of the inhabitants of Bocinja Donja
to outsiders, including SFOR, was palpable, undermining their claims of innocence. Eventually the enclave was closed down, and the village returned to
its original owners. Now the best-known enclave is in
Gornja Maoa, a remote village where native Bosnians
reside along with foreign-born former mujahideen.
While the Bosnian Serbs continue to insist that
these enclaves pose a significant security risk, Bosniak policy has been bifurcated. One the one hand,
there has been pressure to isolate and marginalize
the Wahhabis, in the hope of making any problems
go away. Analyst Stephen Schwartz speculates that
Bosniak political leaders have pursued a strategy
of trying to confine the Wahhabi agitators to remote
locations, rather than settling the problem by consequential legal proceedings.40 Not all Bosniak officials
are willing to settle for this approach, however. The

14

authorities have made numerous arrests, including

a massive 2010 raid on Gornja Maoa and the arrests
of two of the enclaves leaders following the 2011 attack on the U.S. embassy in Sarajevo. Up to now,
though, they have failed to obtain an indictment, let
alone a conviction. As a result, a cloud of mystery
is likely to cloak Gornja Maoa and other similar
enclaves for some time to come, making it difficult
to determine the degree of danger they pose to Bosnias internal security or their potential links to international terrorism.
Some observers caution that many Wahhabis are
peaceful and should not be classified as terrorists, for
fear of driving them into the arms of groups espousing violence.41 The Islamic Community, the official
Muslim religious organization in Bosnia, has refused
to condemn the Wahhabis and attacks those who
criticize them. But the Bosniak public remains unpersuaded; when last asked, 71 percent rejected Wahhabism, suggesting that this form of Islam remains for
them both distinct from traditional Bosnian Islam and
unwelcome.42
The Wahhabis do not yet appear to have gained
control of any significant governmental or official religious offices. Nor, although actual numbers are hard
to estimate, have they created no-go zones in urban
areas, as has happened in Western Europe. This lack
of progress is most likely due to visceral opposition
from local Bosniaks. Attempts to take over mosques
have ended in violence; in one instance, a resident
commented: They should shave their beards and use
deodorant instead of coming here like dogs. For me,
they are wolf-dogs, they will attack our children. I
have female children and do not dare to send them to
[the religious school] at all.43 These locals contempt
of the Wahhabis is unmistakable.
15

Yet, current descriptions of the Federation suggest it is much more radicalized than was the case in
the late-1990s. Given that the trend is pointing in the
wrong direction, it would be foolish to regard Wahhabism as purely marginal, especially when an expert
like Sarajevo professor Reid Hafizovi describes it as
a potentially deadly virus for Bosnian Muslims.44
When times are hard and the future is bleak, such
movements can gain momentum quickly.
ISLAMIST TIES OF SENIOR BOSNIAK LEADERS
Islamists are active not only in Bosnia, but throughout Western Europe and the United States. One factor that makes them a greater danger in Bosnia than
elsewhere, though, is their close connection to Bosniak
leaders, in particularly three men (Bakir Izetbegovi,
Haris Silajdi, and Alija Izetbegovi). These men
have occupied the Bosniak chair of the central states
rotating presidency since its establishment. The danger of the Islamists in Bosnia has also been increased
by their closeness to Mustafa Ceri, the mufti who
until recently headed Bosnias official Islamic Community.
Those men, along with their associates and subordinates, have pursued policies inimical to the views
and goals of moderate Muslims, and those of Bosnian
Serbs and Croats. They have supported Islamist terrorism and Wahhabism, encouraged alienation between Bosniaks and other Bosnians, and sought closer
ties with Islamist countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Bakir Izetbegovi.
The most prominent Bosniak official today is Bakir
Izetbegovi, the current Bosniak member of the Presi16

dency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.45 Bakir served during the war as personal assistant and advisor to his
father, Alija Izetbegovi, who was then President of
Bosnia. After the war, from 1999 to 2003, Bakir was a
member of the managing board of the humanitarian
Islamic charity, Merhamet. Like other Islamic charities, Merhamet used its humanitarian work as a cover
during the war to deliver weapons to Bosnia.46
It is unlikely that Izetbegovi, as a personal assistant to the President, would have been unaware of
these activities. Nor could he have been unaware of
the initiative to bring mujahideen into Bosnia. In fact,
Devad Galijaevi, a former Party of Democratic Action (SDA) official, in 2008, accused Izetbegovi of being one of the chief protectors of the mujahideen who
remained in Bosnia after the war.47
Bakir, who for years directed the Construction Bureau of Sarajevo Canton, was involved in the construction of the King Fahd Mosque and reportedly arranged
for the land on which the complex was built, previously owned by Serbs, to be donated to the Saudis.48 This
mosque, the largest house of worship for Muslims in
the Balkans, is also known for its key role as the center
of Wahhabi influence and power in Bosnia.49 As such,
it represents the antithesis of the moderate Islam traditionally practiced in Bosnia. Izetbegovis connection to the mosque suggests that he does not share the
antipathy of many of his fellow Bosniaks for the type
of Islam that it propagates.
Another indication of Bakirs ideological orientation comes from his involvement in a secular initiative to advance the observance of sharia, a key Islamist
goal and one that is vehemently opposed by moderate Bosniaks. He was responsible for coordinating the
construction of the Bosna Bank International (BBI)

17

Center in Sarajevo, described as the only commercial

shopping mall in Bosnia and Herzegovina that has
prohibited sales of pork and alcohol.50 The BBI Center
was built by the BBI, the only bank in Bosnia to offer
sharia-compliant finance.51 Among the principal goals
of sharia-compliant finance is enhancing the appeal of
an Islamic political order. Another is to generate funds
that can be used to advance Islamist goals.52
Finally, Bakir Izetbegovi is known for his sympathies toward Iran. During his tenure in the BiH
presidency, bilateral ties between Bosnia and Iran
have expanded, including in trade and investment.53
Izetbegovi called for even closer Iranian-Bosnian ties
during a meeting with then Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in February 2013 in Cairo, Egypt,
on the margins of an Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting.54 While a small country like Bosnia
naturally seeks to maintain good ties with powerful
countries, these initiatives stand out, coming as they
did at a time when the UN, the United States, and the
EU have put sanctions in place to isolate the regime
in Tehran.
Some of those connections are particularly controversial. The Sarajevo weekly Slobodna Bosna reported
that, according to the Iranian opposition, the Iranian
Ibn Sina Institute in Sarajevo, described as a scientific
research institute, is, in fact, the IRGCs headquarters
in the Balkans. The magazine also questioned the
bona fides of some 200 Iranian businessmen who
entered Bosnia in the first half of 2012, noting that they
appeared to lack business contacts.55
The controversy only grows when official Iranians
are alleged to have connections to Islamist terrorism.
In the spring of 2013, Bakir became embroiled in a dispute with Bosniak political rival Fahrudin Radoni,

18

a former businessman who is currently the state-level

minister of security.56 Bakir reportedly intervened
to oppose expelling two Iranian diplomats whom
Radoni had accused of improper activities and declared personae non grata.57 The diplomats eventually
left, and a third was expelled in June 2013.58 Two of
the three had reportedly made contact with the Wahhabist leader in Gornja Maoa.59 While no one has alleged any direct contact between Izetbegovi and the
Iranian diplomats, or between him and the enclave of
Gornja Maoa, the reports do raise questions about
whether Bosnias most senior Bosniak politician is
opening the door to Iranian intelligence services and
terrorist operatives.
Haris Silajdzi.
Izetbegovis predecessor in the tri-presidency was
Haris Silajdzi. A prominent SDA politician, Silajdzi
was a former close associate of Alija Izetbegovi and
a senior member of his wartime cabinet, serving first
as foreign minister and then as prime minister. During that time, he also oversaw directly the effort to
bring mujahideen to Bosnia.60 Silajdzi was an effective
spokesman for the Bosniak cause, making the case
that his side was Western, secular, and democratic.
However, his true convictions apparently lay with the
mujahideen: In July 1995, he declared an Islamic holy
war on Sarajevo TV and invited all Islamic states to
fight on the side of Bosnias Muslims.61
After the war, Silajdzis political career took several twists and turns. He continued to hold high government positions, but in 1997, he left the SDA to form
the Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He resigned his

19

government and party positions abruptly on September 21, 2001, reportedly because of his radical connections,62 but remerged 5 years later to win the election
to the tri-presidency.
In 2006, Silajdzi ran on a platform to abolish
the Federation and the Serb Republic entities and
strengthen the central Bosnian statean unacceptable
proposal for any official of the Serb Republic. In office, he engaged in a very public and polarizing dispute with Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, thereby
contributing to the radicalization of Bosnian society.
In the opinion of analyst Steven Oluic, Silajdzi took
Bosnian society and politics back to the painful days
of 1995. It is also noteworthy that the Iranian government not only expressed pleasure at his election
but pledged him its continuing support.63 In 2008,
Silajdzi was among those identified by Galijaevi as
one of the chief Bosnian protectors of the mujahideen
since the war.64 Looking at all these factors, there can
be little doubt of Silajdis Islamist convictions, despite his ability to appeal to Western audiences as a
secularist democrat supposedly committed to multinationalism.65
Alija Izetbegovi.
Neither of those men, however, has had as lasting an impact on Bosnian politics and society as Alija
Izetbegovi, Bakirs father. Izetbegovi, the man affectionately called Dedo (Grandpa) by many Bosniaks,66 was Bosnias president during the war and
then the first Bosniak member of the tri-presidency.
Throughout, he became the embodiment and symbol of embattled Muslims. Many U.S. policymakers
considered him a leading proponent of multiethnic

20

democracy and tolerance. Yet, Izetbegovi left numerous signs pointing to his Islamist ideology. Even
more importantly, he succeeded in forming an Islamist cadre of insiders, including Haris Silajdzi and
Bakir Izetbegovi, which remains highly influential
today and has done much to shape Bosnias post-war
history.
Izetbegovis Islamist ideology is laid out in his famous political manifesto, The Islamic Declaration,67 for
which, during the 1980s, he was sentenced to 5 years
in prison.68 Some excerpts, shown in Box 2, provide
disturbing insights into his thinking.
Box 2
The Islamic Declaration on Islamic Government
and Society.
. . . the Islamic order posits two fundamental assumptions: an Islamic society and
Islamic governance. . . . An Islamic society
without an Islamic authority is incomplete
and without power; Islamic governance
without an Islamic society is either utopia
or violence (p. 26).
There can be neither peace nor coexistence
between the Islamic religion and nonIslamic social and political institutions
(p. 30).
. . . the Islamic movement should and can
start to take over power as soon as it is
morally and numerically strong enough
to be able to overturn not only the existing
non-Islamic government, but also to build
up a new Islamic one. . . . (p. 56).

21

Simply put, Muslims living in a non-Muslim majority country should play by the rules of that countryuntil they are strong enough to overthrow the
system and install an Islamic government. Nothing
in the Declaration suggested any compromise toward
this goal.
Most Westerners ignored the Declaration or dismissed its contents on the assumption that it had been
attacked by the Yugoslav government simply because
it was an anti-communist tract. But the Declaration was
much more than thatand it was politically relevant
after the fall of Yugoslavia. It was published in 1990
(before that, it was distributed secretly only)69 and
later distributed to the troops of the Bosniak army.70
Since then, the Declaration has figured prominently
in Bosniak-Serb political disputes. Bosnian Serb leaders Radovan Karadzi and Milorad Dodik have both
testified before the International Criminal Tribunal
for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague, The
Czech Republic, that Izetbegovi intended to build an
Islamic state in Bosnia based on the concepts set out in
the Declaration.71
Accusations of Izetbegovis continued commitment to the ideology of the Declaration were consistent
with his marked preference for the Islamist regime in
Iran. That preference first surfaced in 1983, when he
was accused of seeking Iranian support for his cause.72
Izetbegovi visited Iran in May 1991 as president of
Bosnia and obtained assurances of Iranian support a
year prior to the outbreak of hostilities.73 His heavy reliance on Iran during the war presumably reinforced
his view of the Iranian Islamist regime as a genuine
ally. This positive view of Iran, as shown previously,
appears to be shared by his son, Bakir.

22

Ideology is, of course, of little impact without an

organization to implement it. Izetbegovi created such
an organization in the late-1980s: the SDA. Although
the SDA gave the impression of being a moderate
Muslim party in order to win Bosniak votes and garner Western sympathy, its inner core was comprised
of former Young Muslims.74 The Young Muslims was
the conspiratorial group, patterned after the Muslim
Brotherhood, which Izetbegovi had joined in 1941.
It based its operations and program on Islamism,75
and one of its main principles was the unification
of the Muslim world through the creation of a large
Muslim state.76
Although the Yugoslav government did its best
to stamp out the group, it survived underground for
decades. Some of its leading members (Hasan engi,
Omer Behmen, Edhem Biaki, Huso Zivalj, and
Ismet Kasumagic), imprisoned with Izetbegovi in
1983, were assigned the most sensitive and important
tasks during the war. Hasan engi, for example, sat
on the board of directors of the Third World Relief
Agency (TWRA). TWRA was the principal conduit
for sending money (much of it from Iran) and arms
to Bosnia.77 Omer Behmen handled SDA personnel
matters78 before working the other end of the pipeline as ambassador to Iran. Muhammed Sacirbey,
Izetbegovis wartime ambassador to the UN, was the
son of Nedib aeirbegovi who had been imprisoned
with Izetbegovi after World War II.79 Nedib was appointed ambassador-at-large to Islamic countries.80
Several Young Muslims continued their political
careers in the post-war period: Zivalj became Bosnias
ambassador to the UN, and Biaki became prime
minister of the Federation. After the war, engi
served as Federation deputy defense minister until the

23

United States forced his dismissal.81 Behmen focused

on ideology, working actively with Islamist youth organizations and educational institutions on a so-called
third offensive of the Young Muslims movement.82
The fortunes of most of these individuals have
attracted little attention from U.S. policymakers, but
the same cannot be said for the activity that first drew
Western attention to Izetbegovis Islamist connections: his decision to bring mujahideen to Bosnia. His
personal connections reached the very top of al-Qaeda: during the war Osama Bin Laden, who had been
issued a Bosnian passport, reportedly met Izetbegovi
in his Sarajevo office.83
After the war, all foreign fighters were required to
leave Bosnia under the terms of the Dayton Peace Accords. Despite the best efforts of IFOR and the U.S.
Government, many still remained in the country
and Izetbegovi protected them. He openly supported
supposedly disbanded mujahideen military units,84
while numerous murders and other acts of violence,
particularly against Bosnian Croats living in the Federation, were carried out by those same mujahideen
and their Bosnian accomplices.85
These were not just random acts of violence in a
lawless post-war period. Rather, the SDA was using
the mujahideen as powerful leverage in a struggle
to maintain an ethnic majority in previously mixed
regions of Central Bosnia and Sarajevo. . . .86 In the
process, Bosnia itself became the victim: Independent
Bosniak journalist Senad Avdi reportedly accused
the party of turning the country into a European
dump for all kinds of scum, murderers, terrorists,
and adventurers of all sorts who have earned the
status of equal citizens of this country with selam
and tekbir.87

24

During the same period, more than 200 Iranian

agents reportedly infiltrated Bosniak political and social circles as well as the U.S. Train and Equip military program, collaborating closely with a pro-Iranian
faction within the Bosniak intelligence service. These
agents aimed to gather information, sow dissension
between Bosniak and Croat participants in Train and
Equip, and turn Bosniak leaders against the West.
It is highly unlikely that Izetbegovi was unaware of
this activity, as the Bosniak intelligence service at that
time reported directly to him.88
In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of 9/11,
a number of terrorists were apprehended, and the
charities funding them were closed. Then moderate
political parties won a national election, and Munir
Alibabi, a senior Bosniak security expert known for
opposing al-Qaeda and the Iranian influence, was
appointed head of the Federation Intelligence and
Security Service.89
In May 2002, Alibabi arrested five senior Bosniak
officials connected to the SDA on suspicion of terrorism and espionage. The officials were allegedly linked
to the murders of Croats, bomb blasts at Catholic
sites, and two high-profile assassinations. The SDA
protested; all were released in October 2002, and no
indictment was ever brought.90 Instead, Alibabi was
dismissed by OHRs High Representative Paddy Ashdown for mishandling intelligence information.91
The SDA soon returned to power, making revelations of its misdeeds even more unlikely, while at
the same time, the accusations fester and suspicions
remain regarding their Islamist sympathies. As one
analyst wrote, There are countless examples of local
authorities in Bosnia failing to act properly against Islamic extremism. The majority of these criminal cases
have not been resolved and when the terrorists are
25

identified the trials take years.92 The SDA top leadership may be innocent of the charges leveled against it,
but it has made no effort to clear the air.
Much about Izetbegovis wartime activities might
have become known had he lived longer: At the time
of his death in 2003, the ICTY was investigating him
for alleged war crimes. However, after he died, the
ICTY closed its investigation, thus shutting off a major
avenue of inquiry that might have illuminated some
of these murky postwar terrorist activities.
Mustafa Ceri.
Much of the support for Bosniak nationalist parties and policies comes from former Grand Mufti of
Sarajevo Mustafa Ceri. For years, he led the Islamic
Community, the official Muslim organization in Bosnia. Despite his position in a religious hierarchy, Ceri
has been and is playing an increasingly important
political role among Bosniaks, that often surpasses
that of any politician, according to a Bosnian human
rights advocate.93 Like Silajdzi, Ceri set himself up
in opposition to Dodik, continuing wartime rhetoric
by portraying Bosniaks as victims in mortal danger
from the Serbs.
Feted in Western Europe as a moderate Muslim,
Ceri enjoys a different reputation at home, where he
is known as homo duplex, the man with two faces.
This nickname arises from numerous indications that
he is anything but moderatea judgment based on
his ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, his view regarding the imposition of sharia, and his positions on Wahhabism. These range from refusing to condemn it to
hurling accusations of Islamophobia at anyone who
criticizes it.

26

Ceris current ties to the Muslim Brotherhood

arise from his membership in two pan-European organizations: the European Council for Research and
Fatwa, a Brotherhood-linked group chaired by Sheikh
Yousef al-Qaradawi, the spiritual leader of the Brotherhood, and the UK-based Radical Middle Way,
which includes a wide range of scholars associated
with the global Muslim Brotherhood.94
On several occasions, Ceri has publicly advocated
positions consistent with Brotherhood ideology. For
example, in 2006, he issued the document, A Declaration of European Muslims, in which he declared
European Muslims (including Bosniaks) fully committed to the values of democracy and human rights
but called, among other things, for the partial implementation of sharia.95 Several years later he argued, in
a speech in Berlin, Germany, that implementing sharia
would not be contrary to Bosnias constitutiona position that would probably surprise most Bosniaks.96
Over the years, Ceri has refused to condemn
Wahhabism. His position stands in stark contrast to
that of representatives and leaders of the Islamic Community in Montenegro, who did not hesitate to condemn Wahhabist activities.97 Ceri has implied that
his stance simply reflects his relative weakness. The
King Fahd Mosque and many other religious institutions funded by the Saudis who spread Wahhabism
are not under the control of the Islamic Community.
When asked if Saudi funding was deleterious, Ceri
replied that Bosnia was in no position to turn down
money from Saudi Arabia, which, after all, was an ally
of the West.98
But Ceri goes far beyond what would be required
if he were simply bowing to a stronger player. He attacks critics of Wahhabism for being Islamophobes
(a well-known, if poorly-defined, term coined by the
27

Muslim Brotherhood), and has led the way in developing the concept of good versus bad Bosniaks.
As the Embassy in Sarajevo reported in a 2009 classified cable released by Wikileaks:
Good Bosniaks, according to this sentiment, are those
who espouse conservative political and religious ideals. More moderate and secular ideals are, by implication, held by bad Bosniaks. Statements from the
Islamic Community, particularly its leader, [Grand
Mufti] Ceri, that label those who criticize Islamic
Community as Islamophobic have sharpened this
polarization among Bosniaks.99

Indeed, in 2010 and 2011, the Islamic Community

issued reports on Islamophobia, cataloguing all the
statements and actions that it believes express intolerance, hate, and hostility against Islam and Muslims.
The definition deliberately obscures any differences
among Muslims.100
In 2012, Ceri was replaced as Grand Mufti by
Hussein Effendi Kavazovi, the mufti of Tuzla who is
considered close to Ceri.101 The well-known observer
group, International Crisis Group (ICG), recently suggested that [t]he Islamic communitys best contribution would be to help craft a vision for Bosnia that
Croats and Serbs can share.102 The Islamic Community, after years of Ceris leadership, has a long way
to go to address the Islamism in its midst. Until that
happens, the Community is unlikely to produce a unifying vision that all Bosnians can support.
In fact, the long-term impact of the Islamism of
these men and their colleagues, subordinates, and
supporters will most likely be extremely detrimental to the future of the country. Bosniak terror expert
Devad Galijaevi describes the danger vividly:

28

Active Islamism is pushing ones own nation in the

whirlpool of problems of other Islamic countries. It is
getting Bosnian Muslims interested in events in the
Arab world, in the Iranian revolution, in the Islamic
Republic of Pakistan. It is bringing Bosnia closer to
Palestine. It is turning Muslims true historical brothers, Serbs and Croats, into eternal and irreconcilable
enemies, and turning Arabs into the only and actual
brothers who look, behave, and talk differently and
have a completely different view of the family, the
state, and themselves.103

The following section examines in more detail the

way in which Islamism promotes alienation among
Bosnian ethnic groups.
ISLAMISM AND INTER-ETHNIC TENSIONS
Analysts often blame the failure to build a Bosnian
state on the Serbs and Croats. Certainly, members of
both ethnic groups have contributed to that failure,
in part by their own actions and in part because of
the external pull from a neighboring state. Croatia offers Bosnian Croats refuge in a country that is
becoming Western, joining NATO and the EU, and
achieving prosperityunlike Bosniaand some Croats have already left. Bosnian Serbs have not been
so lucky: Serbia and the vision of Greater Serbia are
languishing in the political, economic, and social
doldrums. Yet, Serbia was once an economic powerhouse, and even today Bosnian Serbs dream about
reuniting the Serb Republic with it, regardless of any
practical difficulties.
It is wrong, however, to disregard the push factors (aside from the poor economy) that also exert a
powerful influence on Bosnian Serbs and Croats. One

29

very important factor is embedded in Balkan history

during the period when the Ottoman Empire enforced
sharia. Sharia covers all aspects of life, not just religious
doctrine and practice, and applies to non-Muslims as
well as to Muslims. It grants Islam a privileged, protected status, and conflicts directly with Western concepts such as freedom of speech and religion and universal human rights. There is no equality before the
law; for example, men have more rights than women,
and Muslims have more rights than non-Muslims.
Non-Muslims are not allowed to rule over Muslims.104
Under the Ottomans, in accordance with sharia,
non-Muslims were tolerated; that is, they were allowed to maintain their religious communities and
laws but enjoyed fewer rights than Muslims in a system now referred to as dhimmitude. The presence of
non-Muslims was tolerated as long as they played by
the rules. Failure to do so meant that they were no longer protected and could be killed.105
Bosnian Serbs and Croats have not forgotten this
system of dhimmitude. When Bosniak politicians talk
about tolerance, Serbs and Croats suspect that they really mean a political system in which Muslims dominate. Similarly, Serbs and Croats dismiss Bosniak
leaders affirmations of their commitment to multiethnicity, since under sharia, multiethnic means
that many different ethnicities co-exist peacefully
but only under Muslim domination and according to
strict rules.
These tensions would exist to some degree, regardless of which political ideology was dominant among
Bosniaks. As historian Aleksa Djilas described the
problem in 1992:

30

Muslims imagined Bosnia as an independent state

in which they would predominate. Although it was
only Muslim extremists who thought non-Muslims
should be expelled from Bosnia, most Muslim leaders believed only a Muslim should be allowed full
citizenship. Religious Muslims based their demand
for supremacy on the traditional belief that the rule
of non-Muslims over Muslims was blasphemous. But
most Muslims were typical nationalists. They wanted
more for their group. . . .106

Islamists do, in fact, hold more extreme views

than do traditional Muslims regarding the treatment
of non-Muslims. The results are obvious in numerous
countries today where the Muslim Brotherhood, along
with other Islamist groups, has contributed greatly to
the destruction of property, torture, murder, and mass
migration of non-Muslims from lands where they had
lived for over 1,400 years.
In his Islamic Declaration,107 Alija Izetbegovi, took
a less extreme position regarding non-Muslims, but
one that nevertheless provides no comfort to Bosnian
Serbs and Croats. The Declarations message is simple:
Muslims should play by the democratic rules until
they are strong enough to impose an Islamic state.
Once there is an Islamic state, non-Muslims may remain, but only in a subordinate status. If Christians
abandoned their religious organization, Izetbegovi
was prepared to offer them understanding and cooperation. (See Box 3.)

31

Box 3
The Islamic Declaration on Living
with Non-Muslims.
Muslims in a non-Islamic state:

Muslim minorities within a non-Islamic
community, provided they are guaranteed
freedom to practice their religion, to live
and develop normally, are loyal and must
fulfill all their commitments to that community, except those which harm Islam
and Muslims (p. 50).
The position of Muslim minorities in nonIslamic communities will always in reality
depend on the strength of the international
Islamic community and the esteem in
which it is held (p. 50).
Non-Muslim minorities in an Islamic state:

The non-Muslim minorities within an
Islamic state, provided they are loyal, enjoy religious freedom and all protection
(p. 50).
[W]e differentiate between Christs teaching and the church. The former we regard
as the pronunciation of God, deformed on
some points, and the latter as an organization, which . . . has become not only nonIslamic, but anti-Christian. (p. 68)
If Christians so wish, the future may offer
an example of understanding and cooperation between two great religions for the
well-being of people and mankind (p. 68).

32

The influence that Islamists hold in Bosnia is also

key with regard to their publicly stated goal of establishing a global Caliphate. The Caliphate last existed
under the Ottoman Empire. While talking about it may
baffle or bemuse Westerners, the reference is all too
clear to inhabitants of the Balkans. This Islamist goal
is dangerous because it also appeals to non-Islamist
Muslims and because it is shared by two increasingly
important foreign players: Turkey and the OIC.
The importance of Bosnia to Turkey has been abundantly clear ever since Turkey joined the UN wartime
peacekeeping mission there in the 1990s. The Turkish
military remained in its headquarters in Zenica after
the cessation of hostilities and joined the IFOR/SFOR
mission. The military transitioned seamlessly to the
EUFOR Althea follow-on mission, where Turkey is
now the second largest troop-contributing nation.108
In recent years, Turkey has used its relative economic strength to build influence in the Balkans. Its
trade with those countries has increased, as has its
investment in Bosnia. On the cultural side, Turkish
companies have built the largest university campus
in the Balkans in Ilida, a suburb of Sarajevo.109 These
developments are all the more visible, given the absence of increased investment from Europe or the
United States. Turkish diplomats have also been very
active in seeking to promote reconciliation among the
Balkan countries.
Regional conciliation and economic development
are laudable goals, and even cultural ties with Turkey
are welcomed by many ethnic groups.110 The nostalgia
of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoan and
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutolu for the Ottoman
Empire, however, is more likely to raise the hackles
of non-Muslims.111 A good example of this is the con-

33

troversy provoked by remarks that Davutolu made

at a 2009 Sarajevo conference on Ottoman Heritage
and Muslim Communities in the Balkans Today. His
speech was ambiguous: He proclaimed that [n]ow is
the time for reunification in the form of reestablishing ownership in the region, through reestablishing
multicultural coexistence, and through establishing a
new economic zone.112 He did not specify what he
meant by reunification, nor who the new owner
would be, but he clearly meant Turkey to dominate.
For those Bosnians who put Davutolus remarks in
a historical context, his call for multicultural coexistence was likely to be interpreted as a reference to the
Ottoman system of dhimmitude. Nor was it much more
helpful to place the remarks in a modern context, given that Christians feel increasingly endangered in an
even-more Islamist Turkey.113
Turkish neo-Ottomanism in itself is unlikely to
become a credible threat to Bosnians, since the American Embassy in Ankara described Turkey as having
Rolls Royce ambitions, but Rover resources.114 But
the topic itself remains sensitive. Were the Bosniak
leadership genuinely committed to reconciling Bosnias ethnic groups, it would presumably find some
diplomatic way to cushion or rebut such statements.
In addition to its bilateral ties to Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Iran, Bosnia has observer status at the OIC,
the international organization representing 56 Muslim
countries and the Palestinian Authority. Saudi Arabia
provides the most funding for the OIC; Iran, Pakistan,
Malaysia, Indonesia, and Turkey are other leading
members. While not an Islamist organization, the OIC
is dedicated to advancing Islam throughout the world
and to supporting Muslim minorities in non-Islamic
countries. It shares the vision of a global Caliphate
that implements sharia and, indeed, claims to be its
34

present embodiment.115 From time to time, OIC members may be at odds with the Muslim Brotherhood,
but both organizations nevertheless cooperate to promote mutual objectives.
During an April 2013 visit to Sarajevo, OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin hsanolu urged Bosnia
to upgrade to full membership. Bakir Izetbegovi
suggested that full membership would be useful to
Bosnia by giving it access to OIC development funding.116 Were this to occur, Bosnia would presumably
have to adopt any existing OIC agreements or conventions, including the 1990 Cairo Declaration on Human
Rights.117 The Cairo Declaration rules out any rights
incompatible with the Koran. That principle negates
much of Western human rights, such as equality for
religious minorities and freedom of speech, including
the right to criticize Islam.
The OIC reinforces the tenets of the Cairo Declaration by means of annual reports on Islamophobia in
Western countries, similar to the reports on Bosnia
prepared by the Islamic Community. Bosnian OIC
membership would probably give added impetus to
this exercise, making it ever more difficult to criticize
Islamist policies or groups. The OIC could be expected
to show an active interest in Bosnian internal developments, as it recently resuscitated its Bosnia Contact
Group from the early-1990s.118 There is little chance
that the OIC would remain neutral regarding disputes
between Bosniaks and Bosnian Serbs and Croats.
Given all these factors, Bakir Izetbegovis comments in favor of full OIC membership were hardly
designed to improve inter-ethnic relations. Bosnian Serbs and Croats may exaggerate the threat of
Islamism or potential Islamic dominance, but the
Bosniak leadership certainly provides them with
plenty of ammunition.
35

POTENTIAL SOURCES OF VIOLENCE

Many observers worry that the situation in Bosnia could spiral downward into violence, and call for
Western intervention, whether political or military, to
ward off such a development. This section reviews potential sources of destabilizing violence as a prelude to
discussing Western options.
Few observers think that renewed inter-ethnic tension could lead to the level of violence that occurred
in the early-1990s. Partly, this is because, as detailed
previously, the impetus in Serbia or Croatia to fuel a
civil war or to intervene directly is greatly reduced
from what it was 2 decades ago.
Moreover, Bosnian military forces have undergone significant change. In 2006, the armies of the
three former warring factions were melded into a
unified Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina
(AFBiH) under a central ministry of defense, and radically downsized. The force has a mandated strength
of 10,000 professional soldiers, with a reserve of 5,000,
and 1,000 civilian employees. According to a 2011
study, actual troops are estimated to be only 8,500, of
which an estimated 2,000 troops are required to guard
defense sites containing arms and munitions. The
reserves are inactive. Lack of funding constrains the
armys efforts to meet NATO standards and to contribute troops to NATO missions.119
The AFBiH, although small in size, is courted in todays highly politicized environment. The 2011 study
reported numerous incidents . . . of political leaders
addressing AFBiH officers and troops with nationalist
statements at events with nationalist symbols, including politicians from neighboring states.120 However,

36

few think that the ethnically integrated command

structure is likely to do anything rash. Rather, [t]he
general fear is not that the AFBiH will generate instability, but rather that it could fall victim to deepening
political instability.121
During and after the war, the separate secret police
structures of the three ethnic groups were responsible
for much mayhem and havoc. Today, they have, at
least formally, been dismantled and their functions
taken over since 2004 by the OSA. The OSA is charged
with intelligence gathering to protect the security, territorial integrity, and constitutional order of Bosnia.122
OSA has been praised for its professional conduct
and political independence.123 Unfortunately, it must
share its responsibility for pursuing organized crime
with the regular police forces and the judiciary, who
remain more vulnerable to political pressure and corruption.124 In the polarized atmosphere of recent years,
there is little chance this will change. OSA must also
share its duty to combat terrorism with many other
agencies. While Bosnia has made overall progress in
this area, occasional lapses such as the mysterious disappearance from prison of the well-known terrorist
Karay Kamel bin Ali, aka Abu Hamza, still occur.125
If Bosnias neighbors and its armed forces appear
unlikely to initiate ethnic violence, that does not mean
there is no threat. The authors of the 2011 security
study cited previously, worry about the possibility of
lower-level violence, which will most likely coalesce
along ethnic lines. People who could be drawn into
such violence include members of various domestic
groups like football hooligans, special forces, and intelligence veterans now employed by private security
companies, or individuals in the police forces and
judiciarytwo key institutions in which reforms to

37

establish professionalism and impartiality remain incomplete.126 Such violence, while short of war, could
nevertheless be devastating to regular, law-abiding
Bosnians.
THE U.S. POLICY ENVIRONMENT
For most Americans, the Balkans faded from view
a decade ago, and Bosnia is a long-forgotten, remote
place of no particular interest. At the time, however,
the Bill Clinton administration and much of the foreign policy elite feted making and keeping the peace
in Bosnia as a significant foreign policy achievement.
The George H. W. Bush administration, initially skeptical, maintained the SFOR mission and then terminated it successfully. This success contrasts with the
disillusionment over subsequent U.S. missions in Iraq
and Afghanistan.
Indeed, there was reason to celebrate. Conditions
in Bosnia remained largely peaceful throughout the 9
years of IFOR/SFOR deployment: SFOR retained its
authority, kept casualties to a minimum, and helped
bring about significant defense and military reforms.
When SFOR departed in 2004, the handover to EUFOR
was not only orderly and peaceful, but welcomed by
the EU. It was not until 2 years after SFORs departure
that Bosnias political environment began to unravel.
Geopolitically, there is much to be said for seeking to ensure that Bosnia retains its territorial integrity
and Western orientationthat, like most other European countries, it joins both NATO and the EU. Yet,
today, these desired outcomes are far from assured.
Calls for a third, Croat entity or other forms of Croat
separatism threaten the current fragile political balance within the Federation. Russia has courted the

38

Bosnian Serbs as they call for secession and/or a referendum on NATO accession,127 and the OIC has done
the same with the Bosniaks. Were Bosnia to split into
three parts, the Bosniak rump state would come under
strong pressure to join the OIC and could, in so doing,
set a decidedly non-Western course.
The Europeans are as mindful of these risks as are
the Americans, but the EUs recent experiences have
made them very pessimistic about what outsiders can
do if Bosnians refuse to help themselves. In addition,
the EU is preoccupied with urgent problems of its
own, such as the recurring euro crisis.
Nor is the EU equipped to resolve Bosnias interethnic tensions. On such issues, fuzzy rhetoric prevails,
not constructive policies or actions. For example, EU
Council President Herman Van Rompuy, in response
to a complaint by Bosnian Croat Cardinal Vinko Pulji
that Bosnian Muslim discrimination was driving out
Catholics, countered that a European perspective
(e.g., EU membership) is the only way to overcome
the crisis.128 Exactly how this transformation would
work is unclear, especially since the European Commission, in its 2012 annual report on Bosnia, devoted
one short paragraph out of 60 pages to the issue of
religious discriminationand offered a high-level interfaith meeting as a remedy.129
Pulji had linked the tension between Muslims and
Catholics to the growth of Islamism, arguing that [t]
ime is running out as there is a worrisome rise in radicalism. Yet, the Bosnian government has done more
than its EU counterparts to combat Islamism. No EU
government has conducted a raid like the one in 2010
on the Wahhabist village of Gornja Maoa, despite
the growth in various West European cities of similar,
sharia-implementing enclaves.

39

Instead, EU governments categorize these areas as

no-go zones and advise non-Muslims to avoid them.
They appear to have no plan for keeping sharia zones
from undermining the democratic rule of law in their
countries or from incubating or protecting terrorists.
Expecting the EU to solve Bosnias current problems
tied to Islamism is simply unrealistic.
MILITARY OPTIONS
Given the deteriorating conditions in Bosnia, some
have called for the United States to reassert leadership
there before violence breaks out again. Two proposals
by experts on Bosnia are worth examining: first, for
a new military mission, and second, for accelerated
Bosnian entry into NATO.
A New Military Mission.
Janusz Bugajski of the Center for Strategic and International Studies argues that ground forces must be
deployed to avert violence. Unlike IFOR/SFOR, European nations should assume primary responsibility,
while the United States provides strong diplomatic,
political, and logistical support. The exercise would
be backed by a firmer trans-Atlantic strategic commitment to bringing all countries in the region into
both NATO and the EU.130
Bugajskis proposal assumes that an international
military force would not only forestall violence, but
return Bosnia to a path of reform that would allow
it to join NATO and the EU. However, hopes that a
military mission could restart reforms appear to be
based on a misreading of the past. SFOR and NATOs
follow-on military headquarters in Sarajevo were, in-

40

deed, instrumental in pushing for a unified Bosnian

military, one of the major post-Dayton achievements.
SFOR, however, had the authority to weigh in on defense sector reforms because military oversight fell
within its purview under Annex 1A of the Dayton
Peace Accords.
It is by no means clear why another military mission would succeed in putting Bosnia back on track
to join either organization. The stumbling block to
NATO accession is purely political: The Bosnian Serbs
are not only refusing to transfer military facilities to
the central state but have called NATO membership
itself into question. It would be suicidal for an international military mission to inject itself into this dispute.
Nor could such a mission help promote EU accession, a far-more-complex and demanding process
than NATO accessioncovering everything from agriculture to finance to transportand in which a military mission would have neither authority nor expertise. A military mission by itself is highly unlikely to
somehow cajole or force Bosnians back onto the path
of reform and nation-building. Although a military
mission is unlikely to advance either NATO or EU accession, it could still appear attractive if an outbreak
of violence were to threaten the gains made in Bosnia since Dayton. Again, the comparison with IFOR/
SFOR could prove misleading on several counts.
First, IFOR/SFOR relied heavily on European
troop contributors. Yet, the European experiences in
Bosnia since SFORs departure in 2004 have not been
positive. The EU-led EUFOR in Sarajevo has not fared
well; it began with 7,000 troops in December 2004 and
has since been reduced to a troop level of 600.131 This
reduction reflects its drop in effectiveness. According
to Azinovic et al, most observers believe that EUFORs

41

visibility is its only contribution; that its ability to deter politically directed violence is very limited.132
In part, this decline is the result of troop requirements for other missions, as EU military forces are
also required for NATO, UN, and national military
missions. But it has also occurred because the EU political establishment has failed to support EUFOR. For
example, in March 2011, the EU Political and Security
Committee (PSC), charged with political control and
strategic guidance for the mission,133 simply did not
respond when told that EUFOR needed three times
the existing force requirement.134 EUFORs composition reflects this lack of political commitment: West
European countries have already pulled out, leaving
Austria, Turkey, Hungary, and Bulgaria as the main
troop contributors.
Second, after several painful experiences, SFOR
determined that the best units for dealing with lowlevel violence were paramilitary police or gendarmes
(which the United States does not have). These units
specialize in subduing civilian crowds like football
hooligans and are much better equipped than regular soldiers to deal with rent-a-mobs that include
women and children, or with other low-level threats
encountered in Bosnia. Yet, the EUFOR withdrawals
included European gendarmerie forces; today only
some Turkish gendarmes remain in EUFOR.135 Their
use against Serb or Croat crowds is probably limited.
Third, the United States cannot expect to project
much influence by means of over-the-horizon forces.
NATO now provides EUFOR such support; yet that
alone is insufficient to boost EUFOR capabilities. Given European Bosnia fatigue, the inescapable conclusion is that any new mission would most likely have
to include U.S. ground troops, of which Army units
would be the principal component.
42

Were U.S. policymakers at some point to contemplate a mission involving U.S. forces, they would need
to factor in the increased danger from Islamism, particularly Islamist terrorism. For much of the 9 years of
IFOR/SFOR operations in Bosnia, the mujahideen were
forced into hiding. Izetbegovi protected them, but his
room for maneuvering was limited both by U.S. policy
and by widespread pro-Americanism and anti-Wahhabism among Bosniaks.
Nevertheless, IFOR/SFOR enjoyed only limited
success in combating terrorismunsurprisingly, as it
was tasked primarily with maintaining a safe and secure environment. The list of high-profile international plots hatched during and after SFORs tenure (see
Box 1) shows the difficulty a military force with only
limited counterterrorist capabilities has in deterring
such activity, especially when local officials shield the
terrorists from outside pressure.
Todays NATO presence is no better equipped to
deal with a terrorist threat. Counterterrorism is not
even among the top three missions of the current
NATO headquarters in Sarajevo.136 Nor would preparing Bosnia for NATO membership help, as the accession requirements revolve primarily around issues of
democratic legitimacy and defense-sector capabilities.
In addition, Islamist anti-Americanism has now
had a chance to put down roots. How deep those roots
are is hard to determine, but the possibility of jihadist violence against U.S. or Western troops is probably
greater than it was previously. Some terrorists would
likely be homegrown and able to blend more easily
into the native population. Any new mission would
have to factor this enhanced threat into its planning.
Shortly before the Dayton Peace Accords and the
start of IFOR, General Charles G. Boyd, USAF (Ret.),

43

former deputy commander of the European Command, argued that the United States should give equal
weight to the fears and aspirations of Serbs as well as
to those of Muslims and Croats. He further argued
that military action alone would not bring about a lasting peace.137 Eighteen years later, his analysis remains
relevant. Political disputes are at the base of Bosnias
problems, some of which reflect the destabilizing and
deleterious impact of Islamism. Without a policy that
addresses such problems, no military mission is likely
to succeed.
Accelerated NATO Membership.
Balkan expert Edward P. Joseph wants the United
States to refocus on achieving Bosnian membership in
NATO rather than the EU, as it is more obtainable. He
predicts that accelerated NATO membership would
transform the political climate in Bosnia, ending any
debate over changes to its territorial integrity.138 In a
similar vein, military expert Steven Oluic writes that
Bosnias ability to resist extremism and radical Islam
depends on continued Western engagement in the
region and the recent phenomena of moderate Bosniaks challenging the radical Islamists and their ideologies.139 Unfortunately, if the West pushes Bosnian
Serbs to transfer military facilities to the central state
without acknowledging or countering their concerns
about Islamism or Muslim dominance, this move is
unlikely to succeed and may only increase opposition
to NATO.
Bosnias eventual NATO membership would raise
other issues, not only because part of the Bosniak political elite has ties to Islamist groups like the Muslim
Brotherhood, but also because Bosnia is openly culti-

44

vating closer ties with Iran at a time when the Western

world is united in applying sanctions to that country.
It is also difficult to predict how Bosnia and other
Balkan countries with large Muslim populations and
growing Islamist influence will react to future NATO
crisis operations in Muslim countries.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE U.S. ARMY
This monograph has laid out in detail arguments
against a new military mission in Bosnia. Nevertheless, should U.S. policymakers consider the possibility, the OSD and the JCS should point out the fact that
such a mission is unlikely to solve Bosnias political
problems or expedite NATO/EU membership but
would instead face serious difficulties. Their analysis
could draw on the extensive experience acquired by
the U.S. Army during 9 years of IFOR/SFOR deployment in the country, as well as on the expertise gained
by participation in the NATO headquarters unit
in Sarajevo.
The analysis could include:
The reasons a military mission would be unlikely to advance Bosnias accession to NATO.
In particular, NATO could hurt the process by
putting pressure on the Bosnian Serbs to give
more power to a central state they fear will be
dominated by Muslims.
A reminder that IFOR/SFOR and NATO success in unifying the armies of the three ethnic
groups and in creating a central ministry of
defense occurred in a sector where they had expertise and exercised authority. A new military
mission would be unlikely to repeat that success in nonmilitary sectors.

45

 The difficult experience of our European Allies

under the EUFOR and their decision to disengage from Bosnia make it unlikely that they
would be willing to provide troops for a new
mission.
The threat of low-level violence and the limited
ability of U.S. military troops to combat it make
European gendarme forces critical. Yet, those
troops are unlikely to be available.
Security-related developments in the country
have deteriorated since SFORs departure. Anti-Americanism has grown as poorer Bosnians
are radicalized by Wahhabis or other Islamist
groups, while homegrown Bosnian terrorists
as well as former mujahideen may threaten U.S.
personnel or facilities.
With regard to the expedited entry of Bosnia into
NATO, OSD and JCS should ensure that policymakers focus on broader political issues that to date have
received insufficient attention, particularly:
The danger of pushing for a central state that
Bosnian Serbs will never accept if they see it as
a vehicle to reduce them to the status of secondclass citizens in a Muslim-dominated state.
The danger of sharing classified information
and decisionmaking with Bosnian politicians
and representatives with ties to the Muslim
Brotherhood and Iran.
To prepare for such a debate, the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and U.S. Army Europe
(USAREUR) may wish to retrieve any available inhouse expertise and institutional memory on Bosnia,
particularly among those who have served or are serv-

46

ing in those commands, as well as those who served

on OSDs Balkans Task Force.
Unfortunately, the U.S. military presence in Europe is a shadow of what it was during the IFOR/
SFOR mission, and many such individuals have dispersed or been engaged for years in missions in Iraq,
Afghanistan, or elsewhere. However, civilian analysts
and political advisers, including individuals who
served in the NATO headquarters in Sarajevo, may
have valuable in-country experience to contribute. In
addition, consulting present and past EUFOR participants could prove useful.
ENDNOTES
1. Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, and Slovenia have
joined NATO, while Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia are members of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership
Council. Of these, only Serbia has not indicated a desire to join
NATO. Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, and Slovenia have joined the
EU, and Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia have been accepted as candidates. Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina are potential
candidates.
2. The United States remain[s] committed to the Dayton
principles of one sovereign and functional Bosnia and Herzegovina comprised of two vibrant entities and Brcko District and based
on the equality of three constituent peoples and others. See sarajevo.usembassy.gov/speech_20130703.html.
3. Lana Pasic, Sources of Energy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Implications for Energy Security, Balkananalysis.com,
May 9, 2011.
4. Boris Divjak and Michael Pugh, The Political Economy of
Corruption in Bosnia and Herzegovina, International Peacekeeping, Vol. 15, No. 3, June 2008, pp. 373-386.

47

5. Improving Opportunities for Young People in Bosnia Herzegovina, World Bank website, February 14, 2013.
6. Ante Markovics testimony, Novi List, October 24, 2003.
7. Ajdin Kamber, Segregated Bosnian Schools Reinforce Ethnic Division, Institute for War & Peace Reporting, May 3, 2011.
8. Morton Abramowitz and James Hooper, The Death of the
Bosnian State, The National Interest, July 20, 2011. The next census was held in October 2013. The State Departments 2012 report
on religious freedom cites a higher number, 15 percent, based on
information from Bosnian statistical authorities. See www.ecoi.net/
local_link/247588/357813_en.html.
9. Focus on Bosnia Herzegovina, Gallup Balkan Monitor,
GMB Focus on #04, November 2010.
10. Anes Alic and Vildana Skocajic, Understanding Bosnia,
Part One, ISN Security Watch, February 26, 2009.
11. Public Opinion Poll, Bosnia and Herzegovina, BiH, August 2010, Washington, DC: National Democratic Institute, p. 5.
12. Independent Evaluation of the National Youth Policy in
Bosnia-Herzegovina, UN, Sarajevo, April 29, 2005.
13. Index Mundi puts Bosnias estimated 2012 total fertility
rate at 1.24 children born to each woman of childbearing age; a
rate of 2.1 is required to maintain a population. See www.indexmundi.com/bosnia_and_herzegovina/demographics_profile.html.
14. See The Failed States Index 2013, available from ffp.statesindex.org/rankings-2013-sortable.
15. NATOs Relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina,
NATO website, available from www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_
49127.htm.
16. Steven Woehrel, Bosnia and Herzegovina: Current Issues and U.S. Policy, Congressional Research Service, (CRS) Report
R40479, Washington, DC: CRS, January 24, 2013.

48

17. Bosnia and Herzegovina 2012 Progress Report, European Commission SWD (2012) 335 Final, Brussels, Belgium, October
10, 2012, pp. 4-5.
18. Bosnias Human Rights Record Hinders EU talks.
EurAktiv.com, May 24, 2013.
19. See, for example, the European Commissions belabored
analysis: [a] shared vision among the political representatives on
the overall direction and future of the country and its institutional
set-up for the qualitative step forward on the countrys EU path
remain absent. Quoted in Commission Proposes Candidate
Statue for Albania, EurAktiv.com, October 11, 2012.
20. Christopher Deliso, The Coming Balkan Caliphate: The Threat
of Radical Islam to Europe and the West, Westport, CT: Praeger Security International, 2007, p. 8.
21. Evan Kohlmann, Al-Qaidas Jihad in Europe: The AfghanBosnian Network, Oxford, UK: Berg, 2004, pp. xii-xiii.
22. John R. Schindler, Unholy Terror: Bosnia, Al-Qaida, and the
Rise of Global Jihad, St. Paul, MN: Zenith Press, 2007, pp. 295-309.
23. Kohlmann, Al-Qaidas Jihad in Europe, pp. 224-225.
24. Suzana Mijatovic, Tajna Diplomatska Ofanziva Iranaca u
BiH, Slobodna Bosna, October 25, 2012.
25. Christopher Deliso, Israeli Security Concerns and the
Balkans, Balkananalysis.com, March 31, 2013, p. 14.
26. Woehrel, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
27. Country Reports on Terrorism, Washington, DC: US
Department of State, May 20, 2013; and EU Terrorism Situation
and Trend Report, Te-Sat, European Police Agency, 2013.
28. Quoted in Vlado Azinovi, Kurt Bassuener, and Bodo
Weber, Assessing the Potential for Renewed Ethnic Violence in
Bosnia and Herzegovina: A Security Risk Analysis, Berlin, Germany: Atlantic Initiative and Democratization Policy Council,
October 2011, p. 69.
49

29. Azinovi, Bassuener, and Weber, A Security Risk

Analysis, pp. 65-66.
30. Quoted in Vildana Skocajic and Anes Alic, Understanding Bosnia, Part Four, ISN Security Watch, March 12, 2009.
31. Anes Alic, Wahhabism: from Vienna to Bosnia, ISN,
April 6, 2007.
32. Robert Coalson and Maja Nikolic, Radical Islamists Seek
to Exploit Frustration in Bosnia, RFE/RL, March 1, 2013.
33. Walter Mayr, Islamists Gain Ground in Sarajevo, Islamist Watch, February 25, 2009.
34. Skocajic and Alic, Understanding Bosnia, Part Four.
35. Ibid.
36. Sylvia Poggioli, Radical Islam Uses Balkan Poor To Wield
Influence, NPR, October 25, 2010.
37. See Steven Oluic, Radical Islam on Europes Frontier
Bosnia & Herzegovina, National Security and the Future, Vol. 1-2,
No. 9, 2008, p. 42; and Ioannis Michaletos, An Outlook of Radical
Islamism in Bosnia. Pakistan Christian Post, July 2, 2012.
38. Saudis Tied to Domineering Wahabi Presence in Bosnia,
WorldTribune.com, March 27, 2007.
39. Nenad Pejic, Wahhabist Militancy in Bosnia Profits from
Local and International Inaction, The Jamestown Foundation,
Terrorism Monitor, Vol. 9, Issue 42, November 17, 2011.
40. Schwartz, Bosnia Re-arrests Top Wahhabi Plotter.
41. Juan Carlos Antunez Moreno, Foreign Influences in Islam in
Bosnia and Herzegovina since 1995, The Islam in South East Europe
Forum (ISEEF), Sarajevo, Bosnia, 2010.

50

42. Vast Majority of Bosnian Federation TV Viewers See

Wahhabism as a Threat, BBC, December 10, 2006.
43. Quoted in Stephen Schwartz, Bosnia Cracks Down on
Wahhabism, The Weekly Standard, February 18, 2010.
44. Quoted in Boris Kanzleiter, Wahhabi Rules: Extremism
Comes to Bosnia, World Politics Review, May 2, 2007.
45. See official Izetbegovi biography, available from
www.predsjednistvobih.ba/biogr/?cid=8148,1,1.
46. Deliso, The Coming Balkan Caliphate, p. 7.
47. Soldo, Muslim Politician Says Bosnian Al-Qaidah Can
Destabilize Europe, Vecernij list, December 11, 2007, translated
by BBC Monitoring International Reports, December 14, 2007.
48. S. Dusanic, Bakir Izetbegovic Gave Land to Saudi Committee as Present, Glas Srpske, May 29, 2008, translated by BBC
Montoring Europe, Political, May 29, 2008.
49. Walter Mayr, The Prophets Fifth Column: Islamists Gain
Ground in Sarajevo, Der Spiegel, February 25, 2009.
50. Berina Mulabegovic, Who is Bakir Izetbegovic? Globalia
Magazine, May 12, 2010.
51. Bosna Bank International Holds Annual Board Meeting
in Dubai, available from www.ameinfo.com, December 19, 2012.
BBI shareholders include the Islamic Development Bank, the
Dubai Islamic Bank, and the Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank.
52. Timur Kuran, Islam and Mammon: The Economic Predicaments of Islamism, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press,
2004, p. 6.
53. The two signed several memoranda of understanding on
economic cooperation in 2010. The following year saw strengthened scientific and research ties between Iran and Bosnian universities, while in 2012, they pledged to expand economic ties.
See Iran, Bosnia Sign MoUs on Economic Cooperation, Fars
News Agency, May 1, 2010; Iran, Bosnia Universities to Strength51

en Scientific, Research Ties, IRNA, December 3, 2011; and Iran,

Bosnia Urge Enhancement of Bilateral Relations, PressTV, April
10, 2012.
54. Izetbegovic Meets Ahmadinejad in Cairo, BiH Dayton
Project, February 8, 2013, available from www.bihdaytonproject.
com/?p=1793.
55. Mijatovic, Tajna Diplomska Ofanziva Iranaca u BiH,
Slobodna Bosna, October 25, 2012.
56. Radoni was originally close to Alija Izetbegovi. He has
used nationalist rhetoric and donations to the Islamic Community
to advance his political career. See BosniaGood Bosniaks, Bad
Bosniaks, Good Muslims, Bad Muslims, State Department cable
Sarajevo 103, January 27, 2009, provided courtesy of Wikileaks.
57. The report of Izetbegovics involvement appeared in an
investigation by the Bosnian Serb newspaper, Glas Srbske, according to Benjamin Weinthal, Bosnia Tells Iranian Spies to Leave
to No Avail, The Jerusalem Post, May 9, 2013. Also see Benjamin
Weinthal, Bosnia Expels Two Iranian Diplomats, The Jerusalem
Post, April 28, 2013; and Weinthal, Bosnia Expels Alleged Iranian
Spies, The Jerusalem Post, May 19, 2013.
58. Bosnia Expels Third Iranian Diplomat, Iran Daily Brief,
June 28, 2013, available from www.irandailybrief.com/2013/06/28/
bosnia-expels-third-iranian-diplomat/.
59. Mijatovic, Tajna Diplomska Ofanziva Iranaca u BiH.
60. Oluic, Radical Islam on Europes Frontier, p. 46.
61. Schindler, Unholy Terror, p. 200.
62. Haris Silajdzic: The Unexposed Zealot, Toronto, Ontario, Canada: The Centre for Peace in the Balkans, October 2002.
63. Oluic, Radical Islam on Europes Frontier, p. 47.
64. Soldo, Muslim Politician Says Bosnian Al-Qaidah Can
Destabilize Europe, Vecernij list, December 11, 2007, translated
by BBC Monitoring International Reports, December 14, 2007.
52

65. For example, Cornell University stated that Silajdzic today represents the forces for an integrated, secular and multinational Bosnia. He continues to demand the right of return of refugees and displaced persons and is a proponent of multiethnicity,
political pluralism and parliamentary democracy in the country.
See news.cornell.edu/stories/1997/09/co-prime-minister-bosnia-andherzegovina-will-visit-cornell-and-deliver-bartels.
66. Obituary: Alija Izetbegovic, BBC News, October 19, 2003.
67. Alija Izetbegovi, The Islamic Declaration: A Programme
for the Islamization of Muslims and the Muslim People, Sarajevo,
Bosnia, 1990.
68. Verdict of the Federal Court, Kps108/84, available from
www.slobodanpraljak.com/MATERIJALI/RATNI%20DOKUMENTI
/islamska%20deklaracija/VERDICT_OF_THE_FEDERAL_
COURT.pdf.
69. The Declaration was actually reissued not by Izetbegovi,
but by a Serbian company owned by notorious Bosnian Serb leader, Vojislav Seselj. See Schindler, Unholy Terror, p. 63.
70. Schindler, Unholy Terror, p. 200.
71. See Karadzic Talks Izetbegovic in Cross-Examination,
Balkaninsight.com, April 26, 2010; and Rachel Erwin, Bosnian
Serb Leader Says Karadzic Was Peacemaker, Washington, DC:
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, April 12, 2013.
72. See Schindler, Unholy Terror, pp. 32-45. The actual indictment does not name Iran. See Verdict of the Federal Court.
73. Schindler, Unholy Terror, p. 54. See also Bosnian Threatens Poison Gas Against Serb Forces, The New York Times, October
31, 1992.
74. Ibid. p. 52.
75. See the obituary by Enes Karic, Alija Izetbegovic, President of Bosnia, Sarajevo, Bosnia, available from www.muslim-lawyers.net/news/index.php3?aktion=show&number=243.
53

76. Alija Izetbegovic: His Background and Philosophies,

London, UK: Balkan Research Centre, December 1992.
77. J. Millard Burr and Robert O. Collins, Alms for Jihad:
Charity and Terrorism in the Islamic World, Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press, 2006, pp. 140-143.
78. Schindler, Unholy Terror, p. 52.
79. In this first trial, Izetbegovi was convicted of terrorist activities related to the Young Muslims.
80. Schindler, Unholy Terror, pp. 107-108.
81. Bosnia Fire Official with Ties to Iran, Los Angeles Times,
November 20, 1996.
82. Nidzara Ahmetasevic, Adnan Butorovic, and Mirsad
Fazlic, Fishers of Childrens Souls: Third Offensive of Young
Muslims, Slobodna Bosna, January 30, 2003, English translation,
May 10, 2004.
83. See testimony by Eve-Ann Prentice at the Milosevi trial at
the ICTY, available from www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUDznadBOZU.
84. Schindler, Unholy Terror, p. 254.
85. Ibid., pp. 263-266. See also Azinovi, Bassuener, and Weber, A Security Risk Analysis, p. 65; and Ivo Lui, Bosnia and
Herzegovina and Terrorism, National Security and the Future, Vol.
2, No. 3-4, Autumn/Winter 2001.
86. Azinovi, Bassuener, and Weber, A Security Risk Analysis, p. 65.
87. Quoted in Schindler, Unholy Terror, p. 263, sourced to an
article in Slobodna Bosna, September 13, 2001. Salam is a greeting, while tekbir means the phrase Allahu akbar.
88. Mike OConnor, Spies for Iranians Are Said to Gain a
Hold in Bosnia, The New York Times, November 28, 1997.

54

89. He reportedly said that the Bosniak secret police had

been infected by al-Qa-ida . . . there was virtually a cell of that
organization there. See quote in Schindler, Unholy Terror, p. 240.
90. Ena Latin, Sarajevo Trial May Lift Lid on Assassinations, Washington, DC: Institute for War and Peace Reporting,
May 22, 2002; and Ex-Bosnian Officials Arrested for Terrorism
and Espionage Walk Free, AFP, October 1, 2002.
91. See OHR decision, available from www.ohr.int/decisions/
removalssdec/default.asp?content_id=28446. Ashdown fired him for
failure to handle intelligence information properly.
92. Nenad Pejic, Wahhabist Militancy in Bosnia Profits from
Local and International Inaction, The Jamestown Foundation
Terrorism Monitor, Vol. 9, Issue 42, November 17, 2011.
93. Quoted in Stefano Giantin, A Bosnian Plea: Italians,
Dont Give Peace Prize to Ceri, eurasiareview.com, February
27, 2012.
94. Grand Mufti Ceric Awarded Italian Foundation Peace
Prize, The Global Muslim Brotherhood Daily Report, March 26, 2012.
95. See text of A Declaration of European Muslims, available from www.rferl.org/content/article/1066751.html.
96. Bosnian Grand Mufti Says Islamic Law Compatible With Constitution, Will Visit Iran, Global Muslim Brotherhood Daily Report,
June 8, 2009.
97. Kenneth Morrison, Wahhabism in the Balkans, Balkan
Series 08/06, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK: Defence Academy of the
United Kingdom, Advanced Research and Assessment Group,
February 2008, p. 9.
98. Patrick Moore, Leader of Bosnias Islamic Community
Speaks Out, RFE/RL, April 23, 2004.
99. BosniaRising toward Trouble, Embassy Sarajevo,
Bosnia, February 16, 2009, provided courtesy of Wikileaks.

55

100. See, for example, The Second Report on Islamophobia,

JanuaryDecember 2011, Islamic Community of Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Sarajevo, March 2012.
101. Bosnians Elect New Grand Mufti; Mustafa Ceric Replaced After 19 Years, The Global Muslim Brotherhood Daily Report,
September 25, 2012.
102. Bosnias Dangerous Tango: Islam and Nationalism,
Brussels, Belgium: International Crisis Group, February 26,
2013, p. 1.
103. Quoted in Soldo, Muslim Politician.
104. Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri, Reliance of the Traveller: A
Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law, Beltsville, MD: Amana publications, 1994, o.25.3, p. 640. Exceptions to this rule occurred in
Islamic empires, but the individuals who occupied such positions
were always vulnerable to attack.
105. Ibid., pp. 607-609.
106. Aleksa Djilas, The Nation that Wasnt, Nader Mousavizadeh, ed., The Black Book of Bosnia, New York: HarperCollins
Publishers 1996, p. 25.
107. Alija Izetbegovi, The Islamic Declaration: A Programme
for the Islamization of Muslims and the Muslim Peoples, Sarajevo,
Bosnia, 1990.
108. Available from EUFOR website, www.euforbih.org/. In
fact, Turkey has offered to make up shortfalls in EUFOR staffing
but had been rebuffed by the EU, apparently for fear that EUFOR
would effectively become a TurkFor. See Azinovi, Bassuener,
and Weber, A Security Risk Analysis, p. 72.
109. Anes Alic, Turkeys Growing Influence in the Balkans,
oilprice.com, June 9, 2010.
110. Dusan Stojanovic, Turkey Uses Economic Clout to Gain
Balkan Foothold, The Seattle Times, March 13, 2011.

56

111. This nostalgia, shared by the Muslim Brotherhood, found

its way into Izetbegovis Declaration, in which he mourned the
replacement of the Ottoman Empire by a secular Turkish regime
whose new generation had lost the remembrance of its past. See
Izetbegovi, Islamic Declaration, p. 14.
112. Esad Heimovi, ta Turska hoe na Balkanu? Dani,
October 23, 2009. See English translation of excerpts at grayfalcon.
blogspot.com.
113. John Eibner, Turkeys Christians Under Siege, Middle
East Quarterly, Vol. 18, No. 2, Spring 2011.
114. What Lies Beneath Ankaras New Foreign Policy, State
Department cable Ankara 87, November 29, 2010, provided courtesy of Wikileaks.
115. Patrick Goodenough, OIC Fulfills Function of Caliphate, Embodies Islamic Solidarity, Says OIC Chief, CNS News,
May 10, 2010.
116. Kenan Efendic, OIC Invites Bosnia to Become Full Member, Balkan Insight, April 16, 2013.
117.
Available
from
www.oicun.org/articles/54/1/CairoDeclaration-on-Human-Rights-in-Islam/1.html.
118. Turkey Trying to Keep Its Influence in Bosnia, State
Department cable Ankara 1651, November 17, 2009, provided
courtesy of Wikileaks.
119. Azinovi, Bassuener, and Weber, A Security Risk
Analysis, pp. 31-34.
120. Ibid., p. 33.
121. Ibid., p. 34., italics in original.
122. See OSA website, available from www.osa-oba.gov.ba/
osaobaeng.htm.

57

123. Azinovi, Bassuener, and Weber, A Security Risk Analysis, p. 44.

124. Ibid., pp. 39-52.
125. Mark Lowen, Major Criminal Flees Bosnia Jail, BBC,
July 29, 2009. Abu Hamza, a former member of Egyptian Gamaa
al-Islamiyya, first arrived in Bosnia in 1992. See Anes Alic, The
Ringleaders of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Wahhabi Movement,
The Jamestown Foundation Terrorism Focus, Vol. 4, Issue 6, March
23, 2007.
126. Azinovi, Basseuner, and Weber, A Security Risk
Analysis, pp. 4-8.
127. Ratka Babic, Bosnia Serbs Will Call Referendum on
NATO, Balkan Insight, February 12, 2013.
128. Stefan J. Bos, Report: Christians Flee Bosnia Amid Discrimination, Islamization, BosNewsLife, October 12, 2012.
129. Bosnia and Herzegovina 2012 Progress Report, p. 17.
130. Janusz Bugajski, Return of the Balkans: Challenges to European Integration and U.S. Disengagement, Carlisle, PA: Strategic
Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College, May 2013, pp. 156-158.
131. EUFOR Fact Sheet, available from www.euforbih.org/index.
php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15&Itemid=134.
132. Azinovi, Bassuener, and Weber, A Security Risk
Analysis, p. 72.
133. See European Union External Action website, available
from www.eeas.europa.eu/csdp/structures-instruments-agencies/.
134. Azinovi, Bassuener, and Weber, A Security Risk
Analysis, p. 72.
135. Ibid.

58

136. The top three missions are: assisting Bosnian authorities with reforms and commitments related to the Partnership for
Peace and closer integration with NATO; providing logistic and
other support to EUFOR; and supporting ICTY on a case-by-case
basis. See NATOs Relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina,
available from www.nato.int.
137. Charles G. Boyd, Making Peace with the Guilty: The
Truth about Bosnia, Foreign Affairs, Vol. 74, No. 50, September/
October 1995, pp. 22-38.
138. Edward P. Joseph, Bosnia-Herzegovina, The Western
Balkans Policy Review 2010, Washington, DC: Center for Strategic
and International Studies, pp. 63-64.
139. Oluic, Radical Islam on Europes Frontier, p. 48.

59

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